Texas Rangers Blog

Rangers add another infielder

After acquiring minor league INFs Greg Miclat (from Baltimore) and Alex Bucholz (from Cincinnati) during the Winter Meetings, the Rangers signed another on Friday as they look to fill the backup infield spot on the 2012 roster.

Here are the details on the Rangers’ signing of Alberto Gonzalez, who played 102 games with San Diego last year:

Gonzalez, 28, batted .215 with one homer and 32 RBI for the Padres. He was acquired by the Padres in a trade with Washington on March 28, and was on an Opening Day roster for a third consecutive season. Last season marked his third straight campaign with at least 100 big league games, as he is a career .242 hitter in 378 contests with New York-AL (2007-08), Washington (2008-10), and San Diego (2011).

The Venezuela native has made starts at every infield position in the majors, appearing primarily at second base and shortstop. He is a career .277 hitter in the minor leagues. Gonzalez was originally signed by Arizona as a non-drafted free agent in 2002.